RADHICA DE SILVA
Surviving only on bread and cheese since devastating floods inundated the Woodland community two weeks ago, Simon Baldeosingh and some of his neighbours are still a long way from rebuilding their lives.
Although the Secondary Entrance Assessment is just six months away, Baldeosingh's youngest daughter, 11-year-old Amelia, has not returned to school.
Amelia is a pupil of the Woodland Hindu School and by right, she should be spending her days in a classroom getting an education that could help lift her from poverty. Instead, she is forced to stay at home and clean the crumbling house which is often invaded by rats, snakes, cockroaches and other vermin.
The family is unable to cook inside the house and they have been living on bread and cheese donated during flood relief efforts. Amelia's elder sister, Simone, who works at a fast food restaurant and mother, Ann Bhagwandeen, have resumed work but the task of cleaning their ravaged home remains undone.
The family lives close to the Oropouche River, which is one of the major watercourses that passes through the former rice lands of the Oropouche Lagoon. When the Guardian visited their home, 52-year-old Baldeosingh sat on a plastic chair surrounded by mounds of mildewed clothing, water-soaked furniture and bags of unpacked groceries left by Good Samaritans. His left leg had swollen to the size of a club and tears ran down his face.
Unsure of their future, he said "Look at this. How are we ever going to clean up? There are cockroaches and snakes. The place smells bad."
Parts of the ceiling hung loose and the force of the floods had ripped off parts of the front door. On the day of the floods, Baldeosingh said he suffered a heart attack and had to be taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where he spent five days. When he came home, the floods still had not subsided and he and Ann were forced to sleep on a cold and water-logged mattress. The children were evacuated and returned when the floods finally went down a week later. Now that the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation has started picking up bulk waste, Baldeosingh said he started the arduous task of clearing his wrecked home.
"Cepep said they would help. Every day I am in pain and being in this mess is not good for my heart. My wife, poor girl, does her best to help out and the children help to clean too. I have many people to thank who came and dropped off goods for us. Without their help we would have starved," Baldeosingh said.
Admitting that he faced many trials in life, Baldeosingh said nothing was as daunting as the last set of floods.
Water which gushed down from the upper regions of Moruga, Barrackpore and Debe poured out of the Oropouche River and flooded the Woodland swamps, causing more than five feet of water to enter the Baldeosinghs’ home. The force of the floods caused cracks in the house which they rent from a nearby landlord.
"I've been living here for 12 years and I pay $800 in rent. I cannot move. This is where we call home and I cannot afford to pay more," Baldeosingh said. He added that some people have also offered to fix the roof and he was thankful. I am waiting for a lady to drop off school uniforms which she promised to give to my daughter and afterwards she will start back school," Baldeosingh said. The distraught man said he was unable to work because of his heart condition.
STRESS FOR OTHER FAMILIES
Meanwhile, several other families said they too were hoping to have assistance with housing.
Dhanwantiya Sugrimsingh, 58, and her 82-year-old mother, Latchia Sookram, of La Fortune, Woodland, lost their home after the floods. They both moved to a relative's house nearby.
"We have not cooked a meal since the flooding. We are also living on bread and cheese and we get home-cooked food if my son drops some for us," Sugrimsingh said.
She added that it was not safe for them as the main wall in their living room was in danger of collapsing.
"We have moved everything from inside the house and put it outside because we don't know when the wall will fall," Sugrimsingh said.
Sookram, who is bedridden after breaking her leg in a fall two weeks before the floods, said she was frustrated.
"I never experienced this before. We need to clean up but we have no water to power wash. I can't walk and people have to see about me. It real hard," Sookram wept.
Councillor for Woodland Doodnath Mayrhoo said entire communities in the Oropouche Basin suffered hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses. He said many families have been forced to evacuate their damaged homes while many pupils still have been unable to return to school.
CLEAN-UP GOES ON
Meanwhile, dozens of Cepep workers continue to help residents from the flood-ravaged community. Spraying of the stagnating drains and low lying lagoons have also been ongoing on a fortnightly basis but residents said this was not sufficient. Chief sanitation officer at the Penal-Debe Regional Corporation Ayoub Mohammed said more than 20 truckloads of household debris have already been removed from the community.